AN: The prompt options are: Poisoned / Drugged / Withdrawal. This takes place during season 13, episode 4, The Big Empty when Jack, Sam, and Dean are on their way back to the bunker after Jack saved Sam from Buddy the shapeshifter and Dean is warming up to him the tiniest bit. Cas is back, but nobody knows it yet.
I give my chapters pretty basic titles, cuz I suck at titles, but I really wanted to call this one The Day the Winchesters Saved Madison, Wisconsin without even Realizing It.
Lena: No, no, bad Lena with the plot bunnies! I don't want to get behind on my whump posts! LOL My friend who is terribly allergic to cats can't even be in my house if the cats are all in the basement, so I assumed Dean would be like that took. I dunno. But I'm glad you liked the last two chapters and your little shout out! I knew you'd like some Dean whumpage. And here's a Jack story for you. It's a little light in the loafers, but that happens with posting every single day!
Scealai: Allergies can be whump; trust me, I know. I'm allergic to fall, sadly. But I didn't do too much of that to Dean. I considered having him wake up with his eyes all red and everything, but contented myself with almost killing him with an infection. Hehe
Kathy: You are just so nice! I'm glad the feelings in chapter 11 felt authentic to you. I consider that a high compliment. And I just knew you'd like the Weechesters! I think I'll have more in tomorrow's chapter, at least a flashback or two.
Kimikari leaned against a tree where she could watch the people of Madison bike, roller blade, jog, and stroll around one of the two lakes that were key features of the town. She was wearing a cute young co-ed and more than a few of the college guys (and a couple of the girls) cast interested looks her way. But that wasn't the kind of fun she was looking for today.
She was busy working calculations in her head. If she treated the lakes with her newest compound, would it get into the city's water supply before people noticed the fish and squirrels dying? Would the CDC respond before the contagion spread? Yes…unless she waited until it dropped below fifty degrees. Kimi smiled. In a few months, the entire city of Madison would be wiped off the map.
She had been staying off other demons' radar since Lucifer had been popped back in his cage. She was pissed that the Croatoan virus had been foiled, and wanted another chance for the perfect pandemic. She lacked the resources with her boss in the box; or at least, she thought he was there, since she couldn't sense him at all. One of the horsemen could have helped her wreak carnage, but War and Pestilence were basically powerless, Famine and Death were dead, and the new Death was all about order.
Kimi could be patient. The Croatoan was perfect. It was even named for her, though she hadn't been known by that appellation for many years, knowing it was best to keep a low profile. After all, she'd been the one to teach Ivan the Terrible the importance of keeping one's head down.
"How do I keep power, krasivaya?" he'd asked Kimi, who had been living as his favorite concubine. She'd proved politically savvy, and the young prince had quickly come to rely on her advice.
They had been walking through a nearly ripe wheat field so Kimi could plan an upcoming famine. Without a word, Kimi put her hand on his walking stick. Intrigued, he let her take it. She located a wheat head that stuck up higher than its counterparts. Still without a word, Kimi sliced off the top of the stalk and handed Ivan his staff back. His eyes lit with comprehension.
"I understand. Remove anyone who stands out from the crowd."
Oh, the things Ivan had done under her tutelage. It had been the start of the greatest period of her life. After Ivan was dead, she'd gone to the New World to test out her virus, the one that would be named for her. Then she'd popped down to Peru and seeded a volcano by the name of Huaynaputina with a special concoction that made its eruption ten times larger than it would have been. It was so violent it would lead to extra cold winters and subsequent famine across the world. In Russia alone, about 2 million people would starve to death.
It was glorious. It was art.
Kimi sighed. How she missed those days. Lilith and Azazel had given her all kinds of resources. She knew she'd get stronger and have the opportunity to make some allies if she spent some time in Hell, but she was a known Lucifer supporter and it wasn't exactly safe for her. She'd had such great hopes for Crowley, but wanted to give him a couple hundred years to solidify his power. And now he was apparently gone. She sighed again. She was a genius with chemistry, but only a lower level demonic power.
Kimi was broken out of her reverie by a sudden pulse of strange power. She'd felt it before, much stronger, but far away. This…this was here, in Madison. It smelled almost like Lucifer, and a shock ran through her. Were the rumors true?
She ran.
WINCHESTER * WINCHESTER
"Almost shot in the heart – what's that one?" Dean asked as he pulled the Impala out onto the road.
"Chimichangas, I think," responded Sam. He half turned in his seat, anticipating Jack's question. "We have this strange, uh, tradition. When we almost die and end up not really hurt, we get some…food to celebrate." He paused, a little embarrassed. "What we get depends on how we almost died. Shot means chimichangas."
"Stabbed is cheeseburgers," added Dean, not embarrassed in the slightest. "That's because it's the most common. A bite means pizza. What else, Sammy?"
"Um…beheaded is tacos. Strangled is fried chicken." He sighed. "Yeah. We get that a lot. Crushed is nachos, falling or pushed off something high up is hot dogs. There's other ones, but I can't think of them right now." He blushed a little. "It's weird, but it's kind of our thing."
Dean shrugged. "Some people play fantasy football."
Sam laughed.
"Yeah, you can laugh. We're the one that have to ride with you in the car after you eat chimichangas. Thank god you didn't almost get beheaded."
WINCHESTER * WINCHESTER
Jack enjoyed the chimichangas so much that he asked for them again the next day. Sam agreed before Dean could complain. "But let's get some good ones this time. Let's stop at a real sit-down restaurant."
Dean had a great deal to say about that, most of it complaining. Jack assumed that meant they were not going to get chimichangas, or at very least, they weren't going to stop at what Sam called a "real" restaurant. But shortly after dark, Dean pulled the car into the parking lot of restaurant with a giant, neon cactus outside.
Kimi pulled in right behind them. She had followed them the night before but they had warded their motel rooms so she couldn't get in. Then they'd spent seven straight hours in that stupid car. She had to get to Lucifer's child. She had to. She didn't know why the hunters had him or how they were keeping him, but she had a plan for how to get him away.
She had intended to just take one of the hunter's meat suits, but she could feel that they were warded. They had other protection on them, too, and it made her nervous. Not knowing the source of the secondary protection, she also decided that she would need to incapacitate them to take the child. She didn't want to call down whatever was attached to them. No, she'd use her potions to knock the hunters out and weaken Lucifer's child.
Then she would take him and make him her own. Because second only to death, Kimi sought power.
Kimi possessed the sole waitress in the tiny Tex-Mex restaurant when she ducked into the kitchen. The cook and dishwasher stared in horror, and she held a finger to her lips. "Keep your mouths shut and you and your friend will live," she lied in a harsh whisper. She took a knife and drove it to the hilt into the counter, a feat no human being could have replicated. "I need her for one hour. Do you understand me?" Both young men nodded frantically. "Give me your cell phones." They handed them over without hesitation, and she smashed them both. Then she pushed a large refrigeration unit in front of the back door. Nobody was leaving without her knowing it.
Nodding, satisfied, Kimi spoke directly to the mind of the meat suit she occupied. Take care of your customers like you normally would. If you try to tip anyone off or do anything to make people suspicious, I will cut off all your fingers. Understand? There was terrified acknowledgement.
Kimi grabbed the vials she needed off the body she'd just vacated and slid them into her pockets. She negligently shoved the discarded body to the side with her foot. Then she pulled back a little to let the woman do her job. She was very careful about who received which plate of chimichangas.
"You'll learn that it's never a good idea to let Sam eat Mexi-Mex-" Dean was saying, when suddenly he broke off and put a hand to his head.
"Dean?" Sam saw Dean's eyes go slightly glazed and rose reflexively to his feet. At least he got halfway there, then sat down hard. Recognition flared in his expression even as his vision went double. "Jack, we've been drugged. G-get out!" He looked up and saw the waitress' eyes flare black as she smiled. "Demon!" he cried, this time managing to gain his feet.
Kimi laughed, confident in her pharmaceuticals. But she didn't know the Winchesters. Both had stopped eating as soon as they'd felt themselves growing dizzy, and they weren't the type of men to let a little double vision stop them. Dean lurched out of his chair into her, knocking her to the floor and giving Sam the opportunity to bury the demon knife in her chest. She was dead before she'd even registered the danger.
"Jack!" cried Sam, seeing the Nephilim slumped over the table, shaking, eyes open but unseeing. The hunter realized that the half dozen other patrons were staring at the carnage. "She drugged us," explained Sam, knowing he was slurring slightly.
"And she attacked us!" called someone from the back. "She must have been on PCP's or something. She was really strong."
Sam nodded, but he had other priorities. "Dean, can you walk?"
Dean nodded. He'd eaten faster than Sam, and had more of the drugs in his system. He managed to gain his feet, though, recognizing the need to get out of there ASAP. Sam hefted Jack over a shoulder, wincing at how much the kid was shaking. He was grateful Jack didn't weigh much, because he wasn't as steady as he'd like either. He could hear other diners calling out for them to wait for emergency services and offering help, but he ignored them. He didn't have the capacity to do anything but focus on getting his ailing brother and the kid to the car. Dean fell to one knee just shy of the Impala, but got back to his feet and opened the back door for Sam.
Sam staggered trying to lower Jack to the back seat and winced when Jack landed harder than he'd intended. "Sorry. Sorry. Jack, can you hear me?" He patted Jack's cheek a few times, worried that he now so limp. "Shit. Okay. Dean, keys."
Dean's eyes were crossing. "You okay to drive my baby?"
Sam almost said that they didn't have any choice, but they didn't have time for doubts. "Yeah." Dean tossed them and Sam nearly missed. And then nearly tipped over from shifting his weight. But Dean was already climbing into the passenger seat and thankfully didn't notice, his eyes halfway shut. Or he realized that Sam was their only option, and they had to get out of there before the cops came.
Sam set out for bunker, shaking himself a few times to try and push away the affects of the drugs. His thoughts were thick, moving slower than normal, like he'd just woken up, so he gave himself time to think things through. He guzzled a bottle of water as they went, hoping it would help move the drugs through his system. They were less than an hour from home, and it was unlikely a hospital could do anything for Jack. Beyond that, what exactly would they say had happened? The police would definitely connect them to the death of the demon at the restaurant. No, they'd go home and he could perform a purification ritual. He'd once done it for a severely hung-over Dean, and it had helped with that, so maybe it could help Jack too. It wasn't pleasant, but it was effective. Decided, he pushed for more speed.
Dean dozed in the passenger seat and grumbled when Sam took his pulse. He'd be okay. But in the back seat, Jack began to seize. "Hang on, Jack. Just hang on," whispered Sam, wondering exactly when he'd started to care for the Nephilim. "We'll be home soon."
WINCHESTER * WINCHESTER
Each new experience and sensation was a revelation to Jack, even the scary ones, like getting stabbed, but he did not like this feeling at all. He was able to sleep if he chose, though he did it a lot less than Sam and Dean, but he was always able to wake up if he heard or sensed something. This was like being in a sleep that he couldn't stop. And it made everything wrong.
He had watched Sam and Dean attack the demon, but it looked like they were moving too slowly, then too fast. Then everything ran together, all the colors dripping into each other. Then Jack was shaking and he couldn't stop that either. He didn't like it and tried to get it to stop, tried to fix it, but he couldn't touch the part of himself that let him do the special things. The things like making the vending machine spark or the lights go out or the pencil fly. He knew it was there, but it was like it was in a glass bubble. Jack had seen a picture of a swimming creature in a glass bubble, and he felt like his strength, his light, was trapped like that…fish. That was the word.
The world moved and Jack floated and it made him angry. He wanted to see and he wanted to hear and he wanted it to be clear instead of all shaken up inside his head. There was a thing called a washing machine that twisted and spun clothes, and Jack felt like his thoughts and senses were being juggled and shaken like the clothes.
Stop, he told them, but they didn't stop. Open and see, he told his eyes, but they would not. Why am I broken? he tried to scream, but that didn't work either. My mother died, he thought then. Is this what dying is? It made him sad to think that, because he didn't yet know who he was, and he wanted to know before he died. Who is Jack?
WINCHESTER * WINCHESTER
Dean was awake and grumpy by the time they reached the bunker, and Sam was feeling quite a bit steadier. He was still grateful for Dean's help carrying Jack inside. "Why would a drug like that work on him?" Dean demanded. He sounded just a tiny bit protective, Sam thought optimistically. Of course, it could just be Dean was pleased to get to gank a demon and foil its plans, but Jack had also just saved Sam's life. That had to count for something.
"I don't know. Maybe he was given something else. We know that there are spells that work on angels, so maybe there are drugs that work on Nephilim? I'm just glad she didn't get him. Angels and demons both have been gunning for him since before he was born."
"Don't I know it. So what do we do now?"
"I was thinking a cleansing ritual," said Sam, leaning against the wall and trying to put it off as casual. He was really getting sick of the waves of dizziness. Dean was quiet, looking slightly green. "Why don't you go lie down?" Sam offered.
"No. I can help. Tell me what you need."
It was an olive branch, and Sam was grateful for it. He and Dean had gone through bigger fights, but they were both been reeling from Mom, Cas, Crowley, all of it. And in that cauldron of emotions, Jack had become a fulcrum for dissention between them. Dean hated Lucifer even more than Sam did, in the same way Sam had hated Lilith more than Dean did. It was a case of: hurt me, I don't like you. Hurt my brother, I will end you. So it was harder for Dean to accept that Jack might be good than it was for Sam.
Then the petty wounds Sam and Dean had been giving each other were broken open at Mia's. So it felt good to be working together, and Sam was hopeful that Dean could begin to see Jack as Jack, and not just Satan's spawn.
Of course, first they had to save the kid's life. Even as Sam began to list the ingredients they'd need to gather, Jack began to seize. Sam dove over him, trying to keep him from flying right off the bed. "Dean, hurry!"
WINCHESTER * WINCHESTER
Jack was so cold. He didn't remember if he'd been cold before, though he recognized the sensation from his mother's thoughts. She'd been very, very cold once before he was born, when she thought she'd die. And he had saved her, somehow. And that's when she really started to love him.
Jack wondered again if it was his turn to die now. He hurt so much. The cold got stronger and the hurt got softer and Jack thought if I die, maybe it will make Sam and Dean love me. He held onto that thought for a long time, because it hurt and…comforted at the same time. If I die, maybe I'll see my mother.
Then Jack could hear words, but he didn't understand them. They were not words his mother had known. The words stopped, then fire seemed to run through his whole body and he tried to scream but there wasn't any air. Then it stopped and he wasn't too hot or too cold or in pain any longer. He was just so very, very tired. And this time, sleep was just sleep. Jack relaxed.
WINCHESTER * WINCHESTER
"…sunrise. You'll like that. It's my favorite time of the day, I think. And every sunrise is different. It's amazing. When I was little, I believed that there was an angel whose job it was to paint the sky every morning." A little laugh. "Of course, then, my favorite time of day was right after bedtime. When the busy-ness the day was done, and I was lying in my bed and my brother was there, and we were relaxed and safe but not sleeping yet. And I would whisper questions to Dean – sometimes for hours. Or I'd tell him all about my day, especially after I started school. And he probably got so bored with it all, but he'd listen. He'd always listen. And he'd do his best to answer my questions. You wouldn't believe how patient he could be. Not always, of course, but more than I could have been at his age."
Jack couldn't quite wake up yet, but he listened as hard as he could. Sam's words washed over him, the calm tone bringing calm right inside of Jack. He didn't understand how, but it was hoped Sam didn't stop.
"There was a lot of craziness in my life when I was a kid, but Dean always made me feel safe. Don't tell him, but he still does. Sometimes we'll be just sitting at the end of the day, relaxed but not quite ready for bed, and we'll be reading or researching or maybe Dean will be watching TV or on his phone. And we won't even be talking, but we'll be in the same room drinking our beer. And it will feel like when we were kids and whispering back and forth. And I'll feel safe." Sam laughed again, that soft, barely-there laugh. "I have to be careful even thinking it though, because sometimes I swear he can read my mind, and if I get sappy like that he makes fun of me."
There is love in his voice, thought Jack. He didn't know how he knew that.
"The world must be a pretty scary place to you, Jack. You don't have your mother or Cas, and you'll hear terrible things about you father. You probably don't understand what you can do or why, but you know that some people are afraid of you, and you've already seen that it can be a pretty violent place. I'm sorry. Most kids get to be sheltered from that for at least a few years. But my hope for you is that you'll feel safe here. Safe with me, with us. I hope you feel safe enough to wake up."
Sam's voice stopped, and Jack missed it. He sensed Dean was standing outside the door, and he wondered if Sam knew he was there.
Jack wanted Sam to start talking again, and he opened his eyes to tell him so. Wait, he opened his eyes!
"Jack? Jack, can you hear me?"
And when Jack sat up and said yes, he could hear Sam, and yes, he would like a sandwich but could he not put that mayo stuff on it this time, Sam smiled so big he got dents in his face. And Jack was happy. Even all the strange sleep and the hot and the cold and everything was worth it to see such a big smile.
Then when Jack was in the kitchen to eat and drink and Sam had stepped out for a minute, Dean walked in and said, "You did good today, Jack."
And there was no anger in his voice, no irritation. And he said Jack's name. And that made Jack happy, too.
AN part dos: Kimikari means chemist in Basque. Yes, it's an oblique shout out to the character in Wonder Woman known as the chemist. Krasivaya = beautiful in Russian. Ivan the Terrible, the Russian famine (that really covered most of Europe too) and the volcano eruption that caused the latter were all real, but I cannot confirm demonic influence for any of them.